Thanks for answering questions here. I've been getting more into coding and translating my designs into working prototypes. There seems to be so many different options and languages. Besides HTML and CSS, what would you say are the most necessary for a designer to learn?

If you’re working mostly on browser-based pages at AOL, I think HTML and CSS is a great start. In fact, HTML and CSS is a bit of a low-risk gateway drug into getting comfortable with code, so I’m of the school that every designer should have some HTML and CSS under their belt.

Coming from Basecamp, it’s harder to recommend what prototyping tools to recommend in terms of native mobile apps—though there are plenty great tools out there. It’s part of our culture to dive right in and figure things out. Example: just a few years ago, Basecamp had never put out an iOS or Android app that was built in-house. That didn’t settle well with us, so we took it as an opportunity for any interested programmers and designers to jump right in. A few short years later, we have people at the company that are working on actual code bases for each app with skills they didn’t have prior.

But, that’s also not to say it’s up to you how “high fidelity” you want your output to be. I’ve seen incredible website and app interactions prototyped with Apple Keynote and Microsoft Powerpoint.